Mission: Accomplished

As I pointed out yesterday there were a few things that I wanted to be sure were out of the way before I went into labor. I am pleased to report that I have now crossed a few more items off my list.

• LP's birthday party (May 24)
• LP's birthday (May 28)
• Last day of work (May 29th)
• The season finale of Lost (May 29).
• LP's 2-year check up (May 30)
• My grandparents' return from a month-long transatlantic cruise (May 30)

My brother-in-law and his family are taking a vacation next weekend and they are really hoping that I hold out until Tuesday (June 3) to have the baby so they don't have to cut their vacation short in the event we have a boy and will have a bris, but I can't make any promises there. I will do my best!

I will not make any other "wishes" about the birth of this baby since I have been so lucky so far. Let's just say that I hope all goes swimmingly and the result is a very happy healthy baby.

Speaking of healthy babies, LP's doctor visit went very well (aside from the fact that she has a mild case of coxsackie). She has gained 4 pounds since her 18-month well visit and grown an inch and a half. I was worried on the height end because she hadn't grown much in a while, but this is great. The doctor said that if she maintains growing in the 25th percentile she should be around 5'4", although there are no guarantees. Hell, I'd settle for her being 5'2"!

Anyway, everyone continues to do well and eagerly await Bun's arrival. Today LP told her doctor that the baby was a girl and her name was going to be "Baby Cup". It wasn't on the list, but maybe we should reconsider...

This Is It

Today is my last day at work for 3 months. I would try to sound sad for my colleagues, but I would just be lying. And, truthfully, some of them are looking forward to being rid of me.

I have to admit that I was one of those people that got a tad bored during my maternity leave last go round. Regardless of the boredom I did manage to maintain some shreds of dignity by refusing to watch Dr. Phil. This time I was smart and asked LP and the Hoos for DVDs for Mother's Day. I am looking forward to nursing while watching episodes of Weeds, a show I have heard a lot about but never seen (we don't get Showtime) and the entire series of My So-Called Life. I figure those should last me a couple of weeks and individual episodes are easier to watch than movies. Any other suggestions on DVDs I should look into getting? I thought about the second season of Dexter, but I thought perhaps that might be inappropriate.

Other plans include lots of walking, little sleeping and a whole lot of eating up my little Bun while being mobile enough again to really enjoy LP. The whole not-being-able-to-bend-at-the-waist thing sure makes it hard to play with a toddler.

I am really pleased that my kids will not have the same birthday - that was important to me for some reason. I am also hoping not to go into labor in the next 24 hours because LP has her 2-year check up tomorrow and I would just as soon get that taken care of. I am a very practical Virgo, you know. A Virgo with absolutely no control over when this baby pops out.

Maintaining Focus

As nice as it would be for the world to totally revolve around me, that isn't going to happen. Even in my last few days of pregnancy. Although, I must admit it was nice for the Hoos to do all of the clean-up after LP's birthday party on Saturday so I wouldn't strain myself.

Yesterday I had to pick LP up a bit early from school because she had a fever. It hovered around 102 (even with the Motrin) until bedtime and fortunately hasn't come back today - which is good because it is her 2nd birthday! Unfortunately, she needs 24 hours of being fever free before returning to school. I made cupcakes the other day for her to share with her friends, so hopefully she can just bring them to school a day late to share and celebrate. I am pretty confident that she won't know the difference.

In terms of child care, the Hoos and I split today; he was home with the bunny munchkin this morning and I am home with her now. Even though this means I have to deal with getting her to nap, it is worth it, because it also means I can get in a few more hours of work while she naps.

Also, since tomorrow is my last day working for three months it is important for me to finish up tasks and get people up to speed on things. I am in good shape with my project lists all lined up and accessible, especially with the chance that I could be out of pocket any minute now...but I would really like to be sure that I am not leaving anyone in a lurch.

In Bun news, I had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound yesterday. No change in terms of my progress (hey - at least I am not going backwards) and the baby is a nice size. Around 7lbs, 4ozs now with a likely birth weight around 7lbs, 9. Definitely doable considering LP was 7lbs, 15ozs:

Now we just wait...

A Montage

First, the moment you all have been waiting for... I know, you were expecting Bun. Nope, I am still pregnant, and now you get to see my basketball-sized belly. Here is LP enjoying her 2nd birthday party. She is trying our her new Dora fishing rod with Daddy while wearing her fabulous backpack. And somehow we captured her for the 10 seconds she had a ponytail in - doesn't she look like such a little girl? Oh, and she slept until 9:30 in her big girl bed on the day of her birthday BBQ. It was like everyone got a present to celebrate! Finally, here is LP with one of her cousins enjoying the Memorial Day parade yesterday. She thought the whole thing was one big party. She waved at all of the marchers and just generally enjoyed herself.
Hope everyone had as wonderful a weekend as we did. I think we actually spent more time outside than in...ahh...summer...

Mutually Exclusive

Apparently, in the last few weeks of pregnancy clothing can not be both comfortable and fit.

Not that I like having my gut exposed to the breeze, but because of my decidedly pointy beach ball shaped belly very few shirts actually cover it. Even maternity shirts that look really really long when you buy them early in pregnancy somehow shrink, curl up and stretch beyond their limits by the time you reach the end of the gestation period.

I am one foxy beast, y'all.

Do I Make You Nervous?

Apparently being very pregnant makes people curious and nervous.

First, the awkward questions:

• When are you due? {12 days folks, and I was three days late last time}
• Why are you still working and when is your last day? {Is there something else I should be doing? Sitting at my desk is way less strenuous then watching LP or running errands and it causes way less anxiety than sitting home and WAITING}
• What if you go into labor at the office? {First, I will have to figure out if I am really in labor, than I call the Hoos and drive myself to the hospital. Babies don't pop out instantly, you know.}
• Aren't you scared your water is going to break in public? {Only 15% of women have their water break. But anyway, no. It might be embarrassing, but at least I will know for sure I am in labor and not experiencing Braxton Hicks}
• Who is going to watch LP when you go into labor? {Doesn't that sort of depend on when I go into labor? e.g., middle of the night, the morning}
• Do you think you could get any bigger? How much weight have you gained? {No comment}
• Aren't you ready to have the baby already? {I am ready when the baby is ready. I am not going to be miserable and complain because it won't make the baby come any faster. Also, I knew what I was in for when I got pregnant. I am going to have a happy and healthy baby in no time; a lot of people try really hard to have kids, why would I complain when I am going to have a new son or daughter in only a few weeks?}

Then the looks:

• Fear. As in, "OMG. Please do not let her go into labor when she is standing near me. Then I might have to actually do something about it."
• Pity. This look says, "I bet everything hurts and she is miserable. I would be home in bed or on my couch if I was her."
• Horror. "I think she might explode. Is a woman supposed to stick out that far in front?"

I Scream, You Scream...

Want free ice cream? Today Baskin Robbins is celebrating Bump Day and pregnant women get a free scoop. With the price of gas I am not sure it is quite worth it to travel to multiple BR's to get cones for all my friends, but if you are driving, I am willing to be your decoy.

Speaking of screaming...LP woke up around 4 am calling "Mommmmmmyyyyyyyyyy. Mommmmyyyyyyyyy." for no apparent reason. It was awesome.

The Sleeping Saga Continues

We are still working on getting LP to sleep in her big girl bed. We moved the baby gate from the top of the stairs to the door of her bedroom, thinking that if she was more contained perhaps she would be more likely to stay in the bed.

To those of you reading this it will be obvious that this is not really logical. She stays in her room, but not necessarily in the bed. Two of the last four night we have discovered her sleeping on the floor near the door - once with a blanket balled up as a pillow and another time with her little head resting on the door jam. The Hoos transports her to the "bed" (as a reminder, this is a twin mattress on the floor next to her crib) and all is well.

Until 12:30 or 4:30 or both. When LP stands up, walks to the gate and starts chanting "Daaaaaadddddyyyyyyyyy." We have no idea why she does this. She never did this when she was in her crib and really the scenario hasn't changed much.And no amount of "LP, go back to bed!" cajoling actually gets her to return to her bed. Sigh....

What this means is that the Hoos has to get up, go to her room and rest with her. Typically as soon as she sees him she runs back into the bed, but she doesn't really return to sleep. And so he waits. After a while he figures she is relaxed enough and he quietly gets up and returns to our bed.

Monday, in order to keep her calm and because it was the second time he had to respond to her calls, he left the gate open when he crept out at 4:30, even though she was awake. That meant that at 6:15 I had a little visitor standing next to me. A little visitor who did not want to go back to sleep even though she was up half the night. I carried her into her room, shut the gate and the door and made use of the "bed". She played around me, diapering Baby, changing her clothes, putting on "undies" (pull-ups) and generally creating a mess while I tried to delude myself into thinking this counted as extra sleep.

Last night she only woke up once at 4:30 and when I left the house at 7 she was sleeping nicely on the bed. The Hoos reported that at 7:45 when he went to wake her up he found her quietly and deliberately emptying her dresser onto the floor - I guess trying to pick out her outfit for the day.

The only twin bedframe we have for her right now is all metal and moving it into her room would require removing the crib and some significant rearrangement and we just can't figure out if the time is right yet.

Any ideas on how to keep her in the bed? Do you think that having a bed frame with the rail attached will really help (it is not like she still won't be able to climb down, although it might make it more difficult to get back on once she is off)?

Party Pooper

Yesterday was our youngest nephew's 5th birthday party. Two things LP loves most in the world are her cousins and parties. This was heaven for her. The highlight for most of the kids was the HUGE bounce house obstacle course set up in the gym of the local community center. My kid really just loved running around the gym - and, for some odd reason, to the door. She couldn't open the door, but she sure liked running over to it.

Anyway, her fabulous Aunt Denise and Cousin M were kind enough to take LP through the bounce house and up a steep ladder and down an enormous and very slippery slide. Aside from the fact that there is no way in hell my stiff pregnant butt could have gone through the bouncing obstacle course, they had to put up with 15 five-year-olds flinging themselves about the inside of the house at the same time. Not my idea of heaven, that is for sure.

This exhausting exercise was followed by cake. One of LP's favorite food groups. While other kids were distracted by activity and ran away after eating only a smidge of cake, LP devoured hers and practically licked the crumbs off of the plate. That is my girl!

Later in the day we met up with LP's cousins and my in-laws again for dinner. LP was having a grand old time playing in the downstairs playroom while her two male cousins played simultaneously and oblivious to her existence (except when she bugged them). Suddenly I hear, "Mommy! Pee!" I go downstairs to see my little angel without pants on, her onesie open and no diaper in sight.

First of all, I had no idea she knew how to unsnap a onesie. I guess that won't be a problem when we get serious about potty training. Second of all, I found the diaper soon enough. It had a nice little poop in it and was placed nicely, poop side up, in the garbage can next to the toilet. LP was only calling me to ask me to put her up on the toilet so she could complete her act and pretend to pee. (This is quite common, after removing her clothing, I have to perch her on the potty and wait five seconds until she yells "all done!" and then put a new diaper on her.) Perhaps now is the time to start getting serious about potty training, eh?

Feelings...

I am starting to vaguely recollect what was going through my head when I was only a couple of weeks out from my due date with LP. There are some that I am experiencing all over again and others that I am glad to have put behind me.

For instance, I feel:

• Anxious. I thought I had put behind me the constant analysis of every small twinge or new sensation to determine if it is a sign of impending labor.
• Curious. I still am very excited to find out the gender of this baby and what he or she looks like. And man, do I hope this baby at least somewhat resembles the Hoos (and I don't mean in terms of body parts).
• Ambivalent. Playing the "Ready or not ready" game. This consists of me flip-flopping about if I want the baby to come now or hang on until June 2nd.
• Confident. It is nice to feel confident in my mothering ability, having done it before as opposed to freaked out over how I am going to deal with constant new challenges.
• Cumbersome. Today I am wearing black pants that sort of tent up to the apex of my belly. Since that doesn't make much sense, imagine Danny DeVito as the Penguin. My belly sticks out - far. Further than last time I think, and I have the new pretty red stretch marks to prove it.
• Good. In general, I feel good. Sure, at the end of the day I am a bit creaky, but for the most part, I can't complain.

Look into Your Crystal Ball

Okay, I am now a little bit less than three weeks away from my due date. Fortunately, it is still not too late to have a guessing game about when Bun will arrive.

Post your guess in the comments section and the winner will receive a pack of Days Ago digital day counters. If you correctly guess the day and the gender I will throw in Margarita Mama: Mocktails for Moms to Be, a pretty nifty book of cool alcohol-free drink recipes that you don't have to be a mom or pregnant to enjoy!

The only catch - you may not get your prize for a few weeks after Bun's arrival.

Some clues:

• My due date is June 2nd
• LP was born May 28th, three days after her due date
• The baby is in the proper position
• I was 1-2cm dilated and 60% effaced at my 36 week doctor's appointment
• No change in dilation at my 37 week appointment

Because it Grows on Trees

So the Hoos and I gave into the media hype/overwhelming research/guilt and decided to purchase BPA-free bottles for Bun. This will mean tossing all of the Avent bottles that I accumulated during LP's infanthood and replacing them. I remember thinking when we bought the Avent bottles"Damn! these suckers are expensive! And a pain in the ass to clean! I sure am glad that I breast feed most of the time."

How naive I was two years ago. I had no idea what really expensive bottles were. The BPA free bottles from the most oft-quoted sources - Born Free and Green to Grow - are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Like almost $10 a bottle. Fortunately, I am a bargain hunter and I discovered that Nuby bottles are also BPA free. And at Babies R Us they are $7.50 for a three pack. Praise the Lord! Sure, I had to buy some regular nipples because reviews say that the Nuby nipple may be difficult for newborns, but still the cost comparison isn't even close. I paid less for 6 nipples and 6 bottles than for three fancy-schmancy BPA-free bottles.

Of course it isn't really about the money. Although it is frustrating that in order to ensure the health of my kids I need to throw out countless bottles and sippy cups that I was hoping to reuse. It doesn't seem very environmentally friendly to continually replace with a "better product". I want my kids to be healthy and happy and I don't want to put them at undue risk, but I can't help but wonder if I am overreacting. Is all of this BPA media attention warranted?

As an FYI - Nuby sippy cups are also BPA free, which is fantastic, because I recently transitioned LP to Nuby sippies and I have no desire to buy yet another round of cups for her. The real reason for the transition was that the Gerber Grip cups started to leak and the Nuby's seem to hold it together better, but it does work out well that I have someone managed to be prescient and bought her "healthier" cups.

Setting the Standard

Happy belated Mother's Day. Truth be told, I don't really see Mother's Day as being a big deal. I think part of it stems from that fact that I still find it hard to believe that I am a mommy. My mother is a mommy, my grandmothers are mommies. Me, I am a 25 year old (yeah, right) playing house.

It is sort of like when I was eight and I would look at my camp counselors in awe - they looked so grown up and glamorous (I think it was the excessive amounts of hairspray and makeup). Meanwhile they were likely in their late teens. And yet at almost 32 I still have a feeling they were older in the late 80s than I am now.

My mother became a mom at 22. I am pretty sure that I would not have been able to balance work/life/motherhood/etc. at 22 as well as my mother did. Between caring for me and my brother full-time, working part-time, and managing a million other things, she still had time to decorate funky clothing for me (from tie-dying sweatshirts to creating tres chic hair clips) and juggle multiple other responsibilities. Did I mention that she went back to school for both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees while I was in elementary school? I will be lucky to finish my MBA before LP graduates college!

I guess what it comes down to is that Mother's Day is not and should not be just once a year. Everyday when I am trying to entertain LP, prepare dinner, and keep myself from falling over, I appreciate my mom. I appreciate how hard she worked to make sure I could be in this position. I appreciate how she sometimes made it look easy and how sometimes she didn't (because otherwise I would really wonder if I am a mom). I appreciate that she (and my dad) STILL buys me clothing and other items "just because." And I most definitely appreciate how she loves me and my little family.

As for me, I don't need a day set aside to be appreciated. I feel appreciated by the Hoos and LP (and hopefully Bun, who is resting nicely ON MY BLADDER) every day.

Getting Hot in Here

It has been too long since I complained about day care, don't you think?

Spring has kinda, sorta, on occasion, sprung here in New England. That means we have had a few 70 degree days where LP and her little classmates bust out the short sleeves and leave the jackets at home.

Since LP's dimply little arms are quite pale, it is pretty important that her sensitive skin get sunscreen. The Hoos applies it in the morning when the weather is good, but if the kids go outside in the afternoon chances are the sunscreen is not as potent. As such, we brought in sunscreen a couple of weeks ago. The Hoos was told that he can to complete a "topical form" in order for her teachers to be allowed to apply the sunscreen.

I filled out a form and dropped it off with her teachers. Shortly thereafter the assistant director stopped me in the hallway and told me the form was not complete. I needed to specify THE BRAND of sunscreen on the form in order for them to feel comfortable applying it. Because, you know, it wasn't clear enough that it was THE BRAND THAT I BROUGHT IN AND LEFT IN HER CUBBY. Not one to be contrary, I carefully wrote "Water Babies" onto the form and returned it.

A few days later we notice that the sunscreen is missing from LP's cubby. The teachers say the office has it, the offices says the teachers have it and the Director tells me that the sunscreen was sent home because "they aren't ready to apply it." Despite the fact that several other kids' cubbies have bottles of sunscreen in them.

1. It was never sent home.
2. What the hell does that mean "they aren't ready to apply it"?

I brought in the sunscreen, I filled out the form, I corrected the form, I say when I want it applied. Not them. How can they determine when the sun is hot and when my little munchkin needs protecting? Is there some sort of solar UV index calendar that is only distributed to lazy day care directors?

The Horror!

One of the perks of being pregnant is that people are nice to you. Or at least nicer to you than they would be normally. Last week a man offered to exchange places with me in line - he was at the front and I was a few people back. I declined, but it was certainly nice of him - especially since it was a hot day and LP and I were in line for ice cream at Stew's.

On the other hand, sometimes this "niceness" manifests itself in people meaning well but really just being obnoxious. Not just pointing out that you are only a few pounds short of a house, but tsk-ing you for anything they deem to be a transgression. The other day a woman gave me a dirty look for carrying LP. Hello! We were in a parking lot, I can only imagine what you would have done if I let her walk. And heaven forbid I try to run (and I stress try) after LP when she takes off on the playground, the look of abject horror on the surrounding faces is actually quite humorous.

PEOPLE! I know my body and I know my limits. Sure, sometimes I attempt to stretch them a little bit, but in the end I won't (and at this point can't) do things that will in any way harm Bun...or put me into labor.

Whose Idea?

First, a shout out to my little LP who peed on the potty last night for the first time in forever. And she didn't just pee on the potty, she stood up in the living room, announced "Pee! Potty", removed her shoes, pants, and diaper, and ran into the bathroom. It was fantastic. Of course the first thing she shouted when she was done was "MISHIES!" because she knows that marshmallows are her special post-potty treat.

Okay, now is the part where I accept responsibility for the LP bed debacle. It is all my fault. I am the one that introduced LP to the faux big girl bed. To be fair, and make me feel a little less bad, the Hoos thought it was a good idea at the time too.

Last night LP went to sleep around 9:30 in the "bed". The good news, she slept through the night (not that it mattered much to me, I was awake with heartburn and the night sweats - yeehaw!); the bad news - she woke up around 6:15.

I tried really really hard to be quiet when I got up around 6:30 to get ready for work so as not to encourage her moving about, but apparently the shower is too noisy. When I left the house a little after 7 LP was sitting on the bed next to her sleeping Daddy trying to open new packages of undershirts and shoving everything under the Hoos' nose. He was thrilled.

He was even more psyched when I called from the car 15 minutes later to let him know that there was a dead mouse on our back patio. The bright side? At least someone (or rather some thing) had a worse morning than the Hoos.

Define "Too Soon"

Perhaps I didn't speak too soon regarding LP and the big girl bed. Last night she somehow convinced the Hoos to let her sleep on the mattress instead of the crib. She was even quiet and asleep by 9 - much better than the previous evenings. As we relaxed on the couch we tried not to jinx anything (or talk too loud and risk waking her up).

Flash forward to 1:15: cute little footsteps sounds from the hallway and a little munchkin appears in the bedroom door. I pulled LP up onto the bed with us and she snuggled in. Unfortunately, a pregnant and restless mommy is not so great a sleeping companion, so despite the fact that the cuddling ROCKED, the Hoos returned LP to her crib. Neither of us had the energy to deal with trying to convince her to return to sleep peacefully on the mattress. Fortunately after less than a minute of crying she fell back asleep.

We will see what tonight holds on that front.

In terms of Bun news, the Hoos has informed me that we are now in alert level four on a five point scale. I believe we jumped from zero (not realizing I was even pregnant) to four in one day. I am still feeling fine and am not really convinced that this baby will come early. I am sure all of the talk has jinxed me into having this baby way late. Regardless, I have had to return to starting all phone calls with "Hi, it's me; no, I am not in labor."

Reality Sets In

Reality #1: LP is not ready for a big girl bed.

Granted, a big girl bed is a far cry from a mattress on the floor, but considering how much LP loves the bed and enjoys jumping up and running around instead of sleeping in it, we may not be prepared for either at this point. Because the mattress is on the floor, you can't really "make" the bed, meaning there is really no sense of commitment to bedtime. LP actually hates the tucked in blankets and sheets on our bed and refuses to have them even touch her when she does climb in on a Saturday morning. However, it is just not possible for us to deal with trying to get her to sleep until 10 each night. Last night at 10 of 10 I unceremoniously plopped her in her crib. We will try again next weekend. And maybe get the mattress off the ground in the meantime.

Reality #2: We are having a baby.

I know, I know, this is not really a shift in what I have known for the last nine months. But after speaking with my OB this morning, I am starting to realize just how little time we have left.

The doctor confirmed that I am progressing (at 36 weeks!! Eeekkk!). After pointing out that second babies come earlier and quicker than first babies, he told me not to wait until my contractions are three minutes apart to call the hospital. Five to six minutes would be better. He also added, "We will have to talk if you get to one to two weeks before your due date. We don't want to risk you giving birth on 95."

Umm...hell, no, we don't want me giving birth on 95. The traffic between Norwalk and Stamford is bad enough without us making it worse. And, believe me, the Hoos is a great husband, a wonderful dad and excellent at what he does - he is not, however, a doctor. And he is really not prepared to deliver our child.

Because She Rocks!

Last night, as LP's bedtime neared, I asked her if she wanted to go upstairs to the "Baby's Room" to change. She jumped at the chance (she loves the Baby's Room) and ran up the stairs to pick out her PJs. By the time my slow, pregnant butt made it up to the nursery, LP was on her back on the floor, with her pants off, ready for me to change her diaper.

While I was changing her she looked at me and asked "Night-night? Floor?". This time, I jumped at the chance, "Sure, munchkin bunny, we can make that happen." Once she had a dry diaper and fresh, clean pajamas on, she watched me drag the bottom twin mattress from the trundle bed in the nursery into her bedroom. By "watched" I mean, every time I would stop she would run at the mattress like an excited crazy person. Good thing her bedroom is directly across the hall from the nursery.

We set the mattress up on the floor next to her crib and transferred all of her nappies (blankets) and babies to the "big girl bed". I brought over some books and we splayed out to read. Not that much reading was accomplished because she was so excited she kept jumping up to add more babies to the mattress. Finally, after a song (or two or five), I told her I was going to leave. Her response? "Mommy, milk, cuppie."

I returned with a sippy full of milk and quietly left the room. When I came downstairs and told the Hoos about the miracle in process he was appropriately stunned (after yelling at me for moving the mattress). Amazingly, all was quiet for about 15 minutes. Around 9:15 I hear, "Mommy? All done." and there is LP at the top of the stairs, holding out her drained milk cup.

I took the cup from her and thanked her and walked her back to her room. After another song and some rearranging of blankets she asked for some more milk. I semi-obliged and returned with a sippy of water and went back downstairs. By 9:30 she was out like a light, crashed across the mattress. It was a beautiful sight.

Of course, we had no idea what was in store for us for the rest of the night. Just in case LP got the urge to wander, the Hoos put a baby gate across the top of the stairs to prevent any accidents. I was fully expecting to have a visitor at 3am.

At 7:15 this morning we heard the pitter patter of little feet, "Mommy? Daddy?"

Shortly thereafter she returned to our room with a pull-up. I guess a sippy full of milk before bed makes for a pretty uncomfortable morning diaper. She proceeded to remove her pajama pants and wet diaper and attempt to put on the pull-up. Although it looked really cute for her to have two legs sticking out of the same leg hole, it wasn't very practical both in terms of protection and movement.

Anyway, I am trying really hard not to jinx us. Five months ago I swore LP was on the verge of being potty trained. All I can report is that right now LP is napping soundly on her mattress...and I am so proud of my little cutie pie that I can hardly stand it.

"I do it, too!! My turn!"

The time has come. My little girl is almost two and she is ready to be an independent woman. There are very few things that she doesn't think she can do. From cutting melon to getting dressed.

For the most part she is okay with being denied the opportunity to do dangerous things (e.g., cut melon) , but she does get really irate if you try to help her put clothing on. As helpful as this has the potential to be, it can be quite time-consuming and trying. Three mornings a week she is home alone with the Hoos, they are usually running late, and time and patience (on either of their parts) are in short supply.

This morning, the end of LP's first five day week at day care, I was home to handle LP while the Hoos could take his time getting ready for work. I patiently sat at the top of the stairs while she:

1. removed her pajamas, shouting "Zippa!!!"
2. put on her pants, correctly - after I showed her how to make sure that they were right-side out and the tag was in the back
3. pulled on her short-sleeved onesie, let me adjust it so it was not on backwards, and pushed her arms through without assistance
4. repeated step 3 with her long-sleeved shirt
5. put on her socks - pulling them up to her knees - and then let me straighten them out
6. retrieved her sneakers, removed the inserts (these are part of the shoe, I have no idea why she takes them out, but whatever), stood up and held on to my head for balance as she tried to put them on
7. responded appropriately when I said "wrong foot," lining her shoes up so she would put them on the correct foot

All this only took 15 minutes. Well, if you don't count the 23 month lead up of learning and development... It really is amazing to me that my little LP is so grown up.

Now if only she would curb her independence when we are in a rush or out in public.

Prior Planning Means Jack

There is a saying, "Proper prior planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance," which is all well and fine; unfortunately prior preparation and planning doesn't work with a baby's arrival. Plan for a specific due date all you want, that kid is coming whenever it dang well pleases (for the most part).

LP was born three days after her due date of May 25th, but I believe that May 28th was the first date my doctor gave me. I eagerly discarded it and went with the 25th when the ultrasound tech and OBGYN starting using that as the basis for all of my testing, etc. I recognize I am actually lucky to have gone into labor naturally so close to my due date.

The first time around, everyone is really really eager for their baby to arrive. We all think we are going to go early. Alas, lots of people go into labor well beyond their due dates and quite a few end up being induced. There is nothing quite like sitting on your couch and watching the time tick by on the day you very well expect your new addition to pop out.

These last few days the realization has started to hit that I am actually going to have a baby in the very near term. For the last 35.5 weeks I have been quite confident that Bun was going to arrive exactly on his/her due date.

And then...

Yesterday afternoon I started to get this nagging feeling that despite my absolute confidence that June 2nd was the day, that might not happen. MY INTUITION IS TELLING ME I WILL GO SOONER. This is not one of those "hopeful" feelings I had the first time around, it is more of a feeling of "Good lord, what is my body doing? I have four and a half weeks, why do I feel like my body is further along in this process than my head?!"

To put everyone at ease, I assure you, I am not experiencing frequent Braxton-Hicks; I have not had a doctor confirm anything or tell me I am dilated or effaced (Monday is my 36 week visit); I did not tell the Hoos to carry his cell phone at all times; I have not placed a plastic bag on the driver's seat of my car or under my sheets in case my water breaks. I am not saying the baby's arrival is imminent, I am just saying that this baby may have a May birthday.

Now that I jinxed myself and put it out there, I should be all set to deliver in mid-June.